Student Privacy

What you need to know about FERPA

FERPA stands for Family Education Rights and Privacy Act and is a Federal Law which mandates the level of communication that is allowed under the law. FERPA, enacted into law in 1974, provides for the right of students to inspect and review their own education records, the right to seek to amend those records, and the right to limit disclosure of information from the official records.

This means that if you have a question about how your student is doing in classes, whether your student is attending classes, or want to talk about your student’s experiences on campus, you will need to communicate directly with your student.

Students who want their parents to be able to talk with college officials directly must sign a waiver form, available in the Academic Support office. If your student transfers to another college, only he or she can request that the SMC transcript be sent. Read more about FERPA.